The Back of the Bus

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you fear the gods; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your devotion, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One to whom you show reverence without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He served with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.  And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell everywhere on the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as also some of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring.  Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine is like gold or silver or stone, something engraved by art and man’s devising.  Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has established a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has appointed. He has given assurance of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”  Acts 17:22-31

 

The other day I was in midtown Detroit.  When I was leaving, heading back to the freeway, I noticed a street named after Rosa Parks. 

 

Rosa Parks was a well-known woman, who eventually lived in Detroit, but when she was in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to go further to the back of the bus.  You see, people have ignored the fact that God Created all men from one blood. 

 

Man had determined that there was different classes of people based off of their skin color, whether they were a man or a woman and numerous other things, such as their economic stature.  So they ignored the clear teaching in the Bible, they ignored:

 

“And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  Genesis 2:7

 

God didn’t create other classes of people, but He did command all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30-31).  He did send His Son to die on the Cross for our sins.

 

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man some would even be bold enough to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to every person, because everyone sinned.  For until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not accounted when there is no law.  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  And the gift is not like it was through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one offense was unto condemnation, but the free gift from many offenses is unto justification.  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who are receiving abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment was to every person unto condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift is to every person unto justification of life.  For as through one man’s disobedience many were declared sinners, so also through one Man’s obedience many will be declared righteous.  Moreover the Law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 5:6-21

 

Man had decided that those who were black had to sit in the back of the bus, until some men with wisdom decided that segregation was unconstitutional, yet in the eyes of God, it was always unbiblical.  Now our government and governments around the world are once again telling certain people to go to the back of the bus.

 

I’ve mentioned the concept of vaccine passports.  Many states have passed legislation banning them and I personally don’t see at this moment, most using them.  However, this is not to say that vaccine status, whether or not you have a ‘passport’ or simply a vaccine card is not being used to segregate the population.

 

For the recent announcement from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a public-private partnership, has stipulated that Americans who are vaccinated can largely ditch the mask, but those who are unvaccinated must continue to wear their masks.  When I heard this I quickly thought of the yellow stars that Adolf Hitler made the Jewish people wear in Germany.

 

I have read much history and am well aware of the recent dangers of segregating people for any reason, whether skin color, race, political views or vaccine status.  My next thought turned to Rosa Parks and how she refused to go to the back of the bus.  Will we as a society refuse to go to the back of the bus when it comes to our vaccine status.

 

For sure, prophetically a time will come where the brute force of the Antichrist world government system will quash those who refuse to bow to the mandates, so eventually we can be assured that society as a whole will go to the back of the bus, whether brute force is used or simply the promise of being able to take off your modern day ‘yellow star’. 

 

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.  And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to do homage to the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven onto the earth in the sight of men.  And he leads astray those who dwell on the earth by means of those signs which he was granted to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.  And it was given to him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not do homage to the image of the beast to be killed.  And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, so that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”  Revelation 13:11-18

 

So are we in training?  Well I can assure you that the Rapture hasn’t happened as of this writing (1 Thes. 4:13-18), and I can assure you that these things will not take place until after those who have repented and by faith believed into Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are with the Lord (Rev. 4:1, 1 Thes. 5:9).  For then God will segregate the world, He will segregate the world between those who are in Christ and those who are not. 

 

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:”… 2^nd Timothy 4:1

 

He will segregate and Judge the world between those whose names are written the Lamb’s Book of Life and those whose names are not. 

 

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or produces an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”  Revelation 21:27

 

Right now if you were to open up your eyes, you would see that we are dealing with tyranny on a mass scale around the world.  Tyranny in the matter that we have rights, irregardless of a virus.  Yet the devil also has a tyrannical program that the world is involved in, you see God has established how things are supposed to be, rules and laws regarding sin, the solution to that, which is Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for those who choose to accept the free gift from God. 

 

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who leads the whole world astray; he was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”  Revelation 12:9

 

“And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was extremely good.”  Genesis 1:31a

 

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me completely from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done evil in Your sight; that You might be found just when You speak, and pure when You judge.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which You have broken may rejoice.  Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  Psalms 51:1-10

 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

 

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but gave Himself over to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”  1 Peter 2:21-25

 

“For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not of works, that no one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

 

This is the highest form of tyranny and the tyranny is on behalf of mankind who is taking a stand against their Creator.  For God is by no means tyrannical against the people of the world, nor does He segregate people based upon their race or skin color, rather He wishes that all would repent and be Saved through Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21), the only Way (John 14:6).  Yet the world has unleashed a sampling, a small taste of things that will take place. 

 

So where do we go as a society from here?  Do we do the same as we did in the past as Americans and when we had a government that started unfair trade agreements that began to produce our products in other countries, verses in the United States, do we comply? 

 

Well you could say there is nothing we could do about much of our things being made in China, a country that is very oppressive against their people and the things of God Almighty?  Really? 

 

True, that all we could do was petition or government and elected officials to change the laws, but who purchased these cheaper items?  Did the government make you buy ‘made in China’ verses things made in the United States?  Well the same thing seems to be occurring now. 

 

Certain companies are going to go with the new CDC regulations and allow vaccinated people to enter their store maskless (a word which my 1998 spelling check shows up as misspelled), others are going to keep with their same policies for now…everyone masks up.  At least there is no segregation in that. 

 

Nonetheless we have the power to vote beyond what our governments, federal, state or local, might otherwise chose for us.  In much of the United States indoor dining is largely allowed, yet we all know that there are certain popular businesses that simply don’t allow any indoor dining.  Their business, their choice, our dollar, our choice.  The same could be said regarding how things proceed forward. 

 

I assure you that these businesses will listen to money more than they will listen to the government.  In fact they pay for lobbyist so that the government might pass legislation that is favorable to them.  You want a big spokesperson speaking on your behalf, these businesses will do so, if you vote with your dollar. 

 

So how is one supposed to know if someone is vaccinated or not?  In a workplace that will be simpler, employees certainly have less rights and their employer can simply ask for proof of vaccination or not.  This is already occurring. 

 

How well is it to have a certain segregated employee population who has to wear a mask and those that don’t?  Does that not speak volumes?  Will there be whispers behind the scenes about ‘Johnny who won’t get vaccinated’ or ‘Suzy who is crazy about getting a shot’?  Or will it turn into simply pointing fingers and yelling at those who are ‘causing the problems’ and refusing to allow things to ‘return to normal’?  Already there was a major airline who stated that they will not hire any new person who is not vaccinated.

 

It just so happened that there was an article in our local news from a restaurant owner and how he was going to go about the new order with no face masks for those who have had their vaccinations.  Personally I thought the argument was stupid, because people only wear a face mask generally when entering and leaving a restaurant.  Unless you take advice from California where you pull down the mask to take a bite of food and then put it back up while chewing.

 

He said he didn’t know that there was anyway to tell who was vaccinated or not.  He suggested that if they had a tattoo, then that would make it easy.  Ya – so will the mark of the beast.  You see folks, this type of nonsense mentality is right here, right now.  This is downright dangerous and while we are to obey the government (Ro. 13:1), unless it is things pertaining to God (Ac. 5:29), we in the United States have constitutional rights, in other words, laws that protect us from this sort of tyranny.

 

Certainly this new found ideas will push some to get vaccinations (particularly in the workplace) and many people to suddenly be ‘vaccinated’ when walking into a grocery store or such.  In much of the United States, these measures were largely unenforced.  Imagine if the government in our respective states had actually set up roadblocks to ensure that our travel was essential. 

 

By and large in our country, these things didn’t happen with travel, though in many countries around the world they did and are still occurring.  Yet the world is blindsided by the Truth of the matter and that is that every man needs to repent and by faith believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

… “testifying both to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Acts 20:21

 

Jesus said, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”  Luke 13:3

 

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men that is required for us to be saved.”  Acts 4:12

 

What needs to be talked about is the Gospel and how every man needs Christ, not who does or does not need a face mask, a vaccination, social distancing or running for the hills.  For the time will come when God will place those who have not accepted the free gift of Salvation on the back of the bus. 

 

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  1^st Corinthians 15:51-52

 

Many will still have another chance to get Saved during the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7), better known as the Tribulation, and many will get Saved (Rev. 7:9-10).  Yet those who find themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment, standing before God Almighty, will find themselves having been segregated.  That segregation is the second death and those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will find themselves cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity…segregated forever.

 

“And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, out of the things which were written in the books.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one, according to their works.  And Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.”  Revelation 20:11-15

 

Our modern day dystopia can provide a glimpse into what the future holds.  Yet we know from God’s Word precisely what will happen eventually, we do not know the future of what the governments around the world has planned for us prior to the time of the Rapture (2 Thes. 2:7). 

 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.”  Ephesians 6:12

 

People get awfully angry about COVID, the mandates.  There are those who get mad at some who don’t follow the new ‘rules’ and there are those who get mad at the new ‘rules’.  Our society is politically segregated, that much is obvious.  Yet I only wish that we would get mad at this satanic system that we live in. 

 

I wish that we would get mad at the garbage that Hollywood feeds the world.  I wish we would get mad at the music industry.  I wish that we would get mad at those who don’t preach the truth, but preach lies.  I wish that we would get mad at things that are done in this country that are unbiblical, like abortion (Jer. 1:5; Ex. 20:13).  I wish that we would see things God’s way and get right with our Creator.  I wish that this nation would truly repent (2 Cor. 7:10) and cry out to their Creator (Jer. 29:13), seeking the Way which is right.

 

“For the love of Christ holds us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.  Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Now all things are from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As God is exhorting through us, we beseech you on Christ’s behalf, Be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  2 Corinthians 5:14-21

 

“Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

 

If we want to save America or save any country in the world, we have to look towards our Savior, not a leader in our government, but the leader of all mankind, Him whom there is no other name in which to be Saved (John 14:6)…to Him we must look.  Otherwise, individually you will find yourself on the back of the bus in regards to being unsaved. 

 

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so persistently harasses us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

 

While our world might try and make a distinction and segregate us based upon our vaccination status, God will assuredly make a distinction and segregate us based upon whether or not we are Saved.  Mark my words, certainly it will happen.

 

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through the faith of Jesus Christ, to all and upon all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to give evidence of His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to prove at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who is of the faith of Jesus.  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but through the law of faith.  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.  Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”  Romans 6:21-30

 

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, without sin, unto salvation.”  Hebrews 9:27-28

 

Amen!